Under the Influence
by meandering-bluebottle
Summary: On a fact finding mission for the Daily Planet, Clark becomes infected with Red K. What will the mysterious substance make him realise? What does he do that he regrets? Chloe is there to pick up the pieces while Lois is very confused. Slightly AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I have to be honest...not mine!

Hey everyone! I'm new to the world of Smallville fanfiction (writing wise that is) and thought I would give it a bit of a bash. I'm australian so I haven't seen season 8 yet (not anything that youtube wont show anyway) and so I have to warn you that this is fairly AU...please read, enjoy and review...i'll get moving with the next chapter if people like it! Cheers!

* * *

Clark sat with his head in his hands while Chloe paced in front of him, firmly holding a lead box in her hand.

"You can't blame yourself Clark, it's not your fault what happens while you're under the influence of Red K. It was kinda lucky I figured it out when I did though, coz I don't think it would have been very fair to Lois if anything more had happened. Can't imagine how you would have reasoned your way out of that one without completely breaking…"

"Chloe," Clark said quietly, which went unnoticed by the girl in question.

"…and to think what you could have revealed to her. I mean, last time she was under the influence of a drug herself so she was conveniently able to pull an 'Amnesia Episode' and forget the whole thing so…"

"Chloe!" Clark interrupted more desperately. This time Chloe turned toward him, noticing for the first time just how pained he looked as he removed his hands from his face. Seeing Clark like this always made Chloe's heart lurch. How was it that a man who would leap tall buildings in a single bound and save countless lives in a day, could still be so hopeless when it came to the experience of romance? Chloe wondered exactly what point in time the cause of Clark's pain had morphed from Lana Lang to Lois Lane.

"Clark," Chloe began softly and sat down beside him to take his hand in hers. "You can't keep beating yourself up for everything that goes wrong. Red K for you is like the rest of us drinking far too much alcohol. Well, minus the slurred speech and marred motor skills. But the thing is that you can't be accountable for everything that happens when you're affected. I mean, how many times has Lois done something while drunk and completely regretted it? But you don't see her beating herself up about it and you know we all forgive her. It's unquestionable that she would forgive you."

Clark slid his hand out of Chloe's and began to ball his wide hands into fists. Chloe could tell that he was raging an internal battle. Chloe was about to continue to provide soothing words of encouragement to Clark, but it appeared that the angry side of him had won the war.

"No Chloe, you don't get it! This has been one of the only chances that I've had to show Lois how I really feel. And until now, I didn't really know how I felt!" Clark exploded as he wrenched himself from the bench and resumed Chloe's previous path of pacing back and forth.

Chloe's eyebrows shot skywards. She began to realise that maybe Clark's anger was not at himself, but with her. She glanced at the lead box she had deposited beside her on the bench.

"Hang on, you're mad because I came in with the green kryptonite. So what does that mean, you wanted to be playing for the red team?"

The slight defensive note in Chloe's speech made Clark dial down his anger.

"No, I don't want to be affected by Red K. I didn't then either, but it was an accident in the first place and…You've been telling me for weeks that she's been torn between me and the RBB, and I think it's obvious that I just can't compete with him. I finally had the courage to do something, to convince her to choose me but that stupid green rock took that away!"

Chloe's eyebrows knitted together as she thought of how daft her friend was. Nevertheless, she could see where he was coming from.

"Clark, Earth to Krypton! Have you not looked in the mirror today? You _are _the RBB, Lois is in love with _you_ whether you're working on your next story and at each other's throats or when you're on the rooftop, talking to her in the shadows so she doesn't see your face." Chloe paused as Clark stood silently staring at the ground, taking in his friend's words. "And by the way, you work with Lois every day, you've had every opportunity to tell her how you feel. Don't you think that if you really wanted to tell her you would find a way? You don't need Red K to do that."

Clark looked defeated but attempted to explain himself.

"I can't explain it. I know that if I hadn't been affected by Red K then I would never have realised exactly how I felt and definitely wouldn't have been able to tell her. It's just…it was so convenient, figuring all this out and then being able to actually do something about it. I get to tell her things as the RBB that I would never dream of telling her as me. He has so much more influence on her and I…I'm just…" Clark trailed off, not really sure what point he was trying to make. Chloe decided to help him out.

"So what is it Clark? You're hurt because you think she doesn't love you for who you are, or because she hasn't connected the dots between you and our crime fighting friend?"

Clark stopped his pacing and then made his way over toward the bench again, stiffly seating himself back down.

"I don't know."

Chloe continued her gentle questioning.

"Do you want her to know everything?" There was a long pause.

"I don't know." Chloe wasn't deterred.

"Okay, so do you want her to want Clark?" Clark's eyes slowly met Chloe's before he answered.

"Yes."

Chloe smiled, "Good, we're getting somewhere! Do you want her to want RBB?" Clark's eyes stayed on Chloe's, but a crease now formed between his eyebrows.

"Yes."

"So now I suppose the question is; who you want her to want more? Who do you want to be when you're with her? Clark, or RBB?"

Clark had never really thought of his problem in this manner. He had always just focussed on his possible (and now certain) attraction to Lois, regardless of which side of the coin he was playing. Clark felt as though he had more influence, more confidence with Lois as the RBB. This had certainly lead him to believe that it was possible to make an advancement while playing this persona, given that he didn't have the reputation of the small town farm boy to uphold. But even if he was able to have a twisted relationship with Lois as his alter ego, he knew that as the RBB, he could never truly be with Lois. If he was going to be with her, it would have to be as Clark. And today was his chance - A chance that had now passed by thanks to a quick thinking friend and some green kryptonite. He thought about what he and Lois might have done had Chloe not turned up and began to feel his annoyance rise again. He finally answered Chloe, trying hard not to blame her for the day's events, or lack thereof.

"I don't even know where I end and the RBB begins anymore. One side lets me be what the other side won't allow me to." Clark paused and then went headfirst into a rant before he could stop himself. "And today was my chance to show that other side of me without _showing _that other side of me. I got to be confident as Clark and Lois saw that and I got to do what I really wanted to do and say what I really wanted to say. But then I couldn't really say or do anything because the Red K was gone before I could take advantage of it – for the first time mind you – and now I'm left with a mess and have hurt Lois just like I did with Lana and there's no way I can explain what really happened. I can't just take it back, and I don't want to, but what else can I do now?"

Chloe had been quiet the whole time that Clark had been talking. She figured it was a positive sign that he was letting these emotions out, as there was once a time where he bottled everything in. In high school you would have been hard pressed to find out what he had for breakfast without the third degree and a 007 interrogation. She smiled and found Clark's eyes.

"I'm sorry for me and the green team coming in and raining on your Lois parade but you have to know that the Clark Lois saw today wasn't the real Clark. Sure, you had more courage and were able to go in all gung ho, but you know that's not what you are normally like. And I'm sure she knows that you weren't yourself. When you want to tell her how you genuinely feel, it should be in a genuine Clark moment. And I think we both know from experience that there is the possibility for extreme awkwardness, but if it's like you said and you want Lois to want you as Clark, then you have to make sure you are being you."

Clark felt all the anger that he had held a short while before, completely dissipate. Chloe always knew how to bring him back to reality. He sighed dramatically and then shot a small smile towards Chloe.

"What is it with you and Lois and always thinking you're right?"

"What do you mean thinking? We know we're always right…well, I am anyway!" This time Clark gave Chloe a genuine smile and laced his arm around her shoulder in a gentle hug.

"Thanks Chloe."

"Anytime," Chloe replied and returned Clark's hug. After they broke apart, Chloe posed a new question.

"So Mr. Morality, if you did in fact start dating my cousin as you and then also had a fling with her as RBB, would you consider that cheating?"

"I don't know, but at least there would be no possible way to be caught out!"

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A/N: Please review if you would like to find out what happened!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I often wonder why they don't have an automatic disclaimer at the top of every chapter page...would save me having to say that I own none of of each time a story is edited...Not mine...

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reads guys! And thanks to the wonderful 3 people who reviewed...I shall dedicate this chapter to you!

* * *

12 hours earlier…

Lois sat at her desk trying to keep her mind on the article she was writing. She was trying to figure out a more professional word than "slime ball scum bag" to add to her new story about a corrupt local government official. No appropriate words seemed to come to mind. Instead, she found herself distracted and mildly irritated by the consistent clacking of Clark's fingers on his keyboard. She tried to ignore it and focus on her computer screen but every time she thought she was a moment away from a breakthrough, the clicking came back into focus. She wasn't going to lie, it was irritating.

"Smallville, care to tone down the volume on your tap tap tapping there?"

"Oh I'm sorry, is the sound of me actually getting my work done bothering you Lois?"

"Work? Please, you're a copy boy, what's required of you is hardly considered work."

"Well whatever I'm doing, at least I'm getting it done."

Lois turned back to her computer screen mumbling to herself, "Stupid farm boy and his heavy fingers. Feel sorry for the keyboard…"

Clark easily overheard Lois' rambling and smiled while refocussing his attention to his own story. Only Lois and Clark could irritate each other and still make each other smile at the end of it. Lois had almost decided on an appropriate word when the police scanner sprang into action. From force of habit, Lois and Clark immediately made eye contact and then leant closer to the device to decipher what was happening.

"_This is unit 242, we got a hostile situation at a plant in Playne St. Middle aged man holding young female hostage. Over"_

"_Roger that 242, is back up required? Over"_

"_Send in another unit and medical assistance, we don't know how this could end. Negotiation hasn't been successful so far. Over."_

_Pause._

"_Backup and medical assistance on their way. Over and out."_

Lois and Clark looked at each other again. They both jumped out of their chairs at the same time and went through their usual spiel. Clark grabbed his notebook and tape-recorder while Lois grabbed her car keys.

"Today Soldier! Get a move on. I'll drive!"

"Of course you will," replied Clark.

* * *

As they arrived at the police scene, Lois immediately caught the attention of one of the officers dealing with the situation, trying to get the scoop. Clark was using his own techniques to try and get the story by tuning into the officer's conversations over 20 meters away, and x-raying the building to see what was happening on the inside. Clark could see three figures through the main wall. One person looked to be holding a weapon to another person's throat, while the third figure (believed to be a police officer) was negotiating with the assailant. Clark attempted to listen in on the inside situation.

"_Drop your weapon and release the girl."_

"_NO I CAN'T YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE'S CAPABLE OF!"_

"_Sir, I need you to calm down and place your weapon on the floor. Once you have put your weapon down, we can talk."_

"_THERE'S NO TIME TO TALK! IF I DON'T DO THIS NOW, IT WILL NEVER BE NORMAL AGAIN! SHE'LL HURT AGAIN!"_

"_Sir, drop your weapon. You can explain everything to us and if this girl is dangerous we can remand her in custody until you tell us your story, but for now I need you to drop your weapon."_

"_NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! IT HAS TO BE DONE, HERE, RIGHT HERE, OR IT WILL NEVER END. THIS IS WHERE IT STARTED, THIS IS WHERE IT WILL END!"_

Clark saw the man make an attacking motion with his weapon and decided he had seen enough. He supersped into the building via a side door without being detected. The split second it took for Clark to enter the building was all it took for the officer to fire a shot from his handgun. Clark only had time to move one of the people out of the way, so he grabbed the teenage girl and leapt to the floor. The attacker was hit in the shoulder and went careering backwards into a stack of large plastic pallets. The man's weapon easily sliced into one of the pallets and the contents began to pour onto the floor, kicking up a fine red dust. The dust was helpful in masking Clark's presence as neither the girl nor the officer seemed to notice he had made an appearance. The fine dust spread throughout the warehouse space and coughing could be heard from each person. Clark suddenly had an unsettling feeling as the dust began to fall. Before he could place what that feeling was, he inadvertently inhaled the dust and his eyes momentarily glowed red. Clark suddenly felt no desire to fulfil his 'hero' persona and super-sped out of the warehouse space and back into the crowd that was now forming behind the police barriers. Lois stood, front and centre, still trying to converse with the officer in charge. Clark saw that Lois was using her 'feminine charm' to try to gain access to the site and any important information. This made Clark instantly outraged. He barged his way through the crowd and grabbed Lois' arm, snatching her away from the officer.

"Clark, what the hell are you doing?"

"Saving yourself from embarrassment Lois." Lois narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was _trying _to get our story! What were you doing?"

"_I _was actually _getting_ our story." Lois looked like she was going to retort, but if he had some information, any information, it would be more than what she had.

"Alright then, what's the scoop?"

Clark had stopped them a little distance away from the rest of the crowd and still held onto her arm. Seeing Lois glance down quickly at his hand made Clark relish in the control that he had over her. He leant in closer to her.

"Wait, don't you want to know _how_ I got the scoop?"

"What, you went to boy scouts with one of the officers? Made a few connections when you pledged to 'always be prepared'?"

Clark was about to retort when the officer that Lois had been 'flirting' with called out to her.

"Miss Lane? I have someone who would like to talk to you!"

This time it was Lois' turn to smirk at Clark. She raised an eyebrow at him and somehow released herself from his grip.

"Never mind Smallville, got my own scoop! See you back at the Planet." And she took off to see the officer.

Clark had never wanted to hurt someone so badly in his life. Lex had usually riled him up, but this officer was driving him to an almost murderous state. How dare Lois leave him to go and flirt some more with the officer? Lois was his! As soon as this revelation was made, Clark heard a familiar voice behind him.

"I thought I'd find you here. I went to the planet to meet up for lunch, but I got there and the scanner said something about a hostage situation, I figured you and Lo would have high tailed it over here."

Clark barely glanced at Chloe as he still had his eyes on Lois and the officer. Chloe followed Clark's gaze.

"Ah, I see fact finding 101 is in full flirtation mode." Chloe joked, but she saw the look on Clark's face and decided it would be best not to laugh out loud.

"Are you okay Clark?"

Clark had a sudden idea.

"Sure." He answered with a suspicious grin, while still staring at the offending officer. Chloe looked at Clark strangely.

"Okay then…well are we still on for lunch? Lois looks like she's got it under control out here so can you spare a bit of time to-"

"I'll meet you at the café in a half hour. I have something to take care of."

Chloe was a little put off that Clark had interrupted her but she figured he must have tuned in to something of critical importance that only the RBB could take care of.

"Half an hour? You taking your time saving people now?" Chloe smiled and turned back to her Yaris. It would almost take her the whole 30 minutes to drove her way back to the café. Clark hardly payed attention to Chloe's departure as he continued to narrow his eyes at the officer, who was no longer talking to Lois but seemed pretty chipper all the same. Clark thought about the way Lois had flipped her hair and lightly touched the other man's arm and it made what he was about to do that much easier. Not that he wouldn't have done it anyway.

What could have been considered a freak gust of wind came out of nowhere and knocked the officer to the ground. The sandwich he was about to consume was now unpleasantly covering his shirt; mayonnaise dripping down his neck. The name badge that was now half falling from his uniform read 'Deputy Jarrod Maher'. This didn't appear to be Deputy Maher's day as he had also fallen conveniently in a patch of soggy earth, which was strange considering he seemed to have fallen further than 5 meters from where he was originally standing.

Congratulating himself on a job well done, despite the childishness of the act, Clark made his way back to find Lois. It didn't take him long to see her forcibly interviewing a couple of what he could only assume as reliable sources. Not caring much for the story anymore, Clark attempted to pull her away.

"Lois, we're going to lunch." Clark said as he once again took her by the elbow to steer her away from her sources. Lois looked at him disbelievingly.

"You freakin' kidding me Smallville? We've got a good lead here, how can you even think about lunch? And I thought I said I've got this one covered, you go on without me."

Clark just rolled his eyes at her.

"You have to eat, you may as well eat with me. Come on." Clark exclaimed. He had the feeling she wouldn't oblige him, but he couldn't help but realise that taking control like this would rile her up. He never realised how attractive Lois was when she was angry. The continuous insults and banter between them suddenly began to make sense. Unfortunately, Lois misconstrued Clark's intended meaning and assumed he was being his usual concerned self.

"You don't have to worry about me. The five coffees and snack bagel I had this morning will keep me until nightfall. If you can't handle the work then feel free to vamoose."

Lois turned away to re-attend to her source when Clark pulled her back to him. He leant in closer to her. Lois' light perfume was beginning to intoxicate his senses.

"My treat?" He said gruffly while not so subtlety roving his eyes down her body and back up again.

Lois blinked and shifted away from him slightly. She was sure she had imagined his eyes glancing down at her…but combined with that statement…

"Still a pass. If I get this story, I can buy all the lunch I want."

Clark simply huffed and dropped Lois' arm. Lois eyed him wearily.

"We're still on for tonight though right? I'll even let you bring the popcorn, seeing as though you appear to have a dire need to be chivalrous and all."

Clark thought for a moment and it finally clicked. Movie night at the farm. Clark reasoned that he could let Lois miss out on their lunch if there was the promise of a more intimate evening. Without Chloe present. Clark smiled widely and leaned in to Lois again.

"Looking forward to it."

* * *

Clark arrived at the café before Chloe.

"You took your time Chloe," Clark stated rather cockily.

"Well, when you find technology to blur my car here as fast as you do, then give me a call."

"If I were you I wouldn't be waiting by the phone then."

"Wow, someone has a little super powers ego boost today. May I remind you that there is at least one person even faster than you are?"

Clark scoffed as if Chloe's point was hardly worth mentioning. Chloe narrowed her eyes slightly at her friend.

She decided to ignore Clark's strangeness for the moment and began to tell him about her new project happening at the Isis foundation. Clark listened with no interest in the content of Chloe's speech. He 'hhmed' and 'aha-ed' in all the right places while not considering any of the words the girl across from him was saying. Instead, Clark kept checking his phone to see the time. 1.20. Tonight couldn't be further away. Clark somehow got through the entire lunch without contributing anything of value to the conversation. This hadn't gone unnoticed by Chloe who had begun to talk about giving Jimmy the flick and joining a nudist colony who worshipped the devil. Clark's reply of, "sounds great" didn't suffice for Chloe and she finally decided to probe a bit further. Chloe clicked her fingers in front of Clark's face and his gaze came back into focus.

"If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you were trying to x-ray my head. What's going on Clark, you haven't been listening to a word I've said."

"Sure I have." Clark said defensively, not really caring that he had been caught out.

"What was I talking about then?"

"I'd wager a guess at women's issues?"

"Women's issues? Excuse me?" Chloe replied, rather offended.

"You see this is why I need some guys to hang around with," Clark stated to no one in particular.

"Well I'm sorry if you find helping meteor infected people boring or somehow correlating to 'women's issues'. Seriously, what is up with you today Clark? What happened at the warehouse?"

Clark began to answer in a rather bored manner while looking out the window to the street beyond.

"You know, the usual. Man kidnaps girl, holds a knife to her throat, officer shoots man, girl escapes unharmed and Lois is chatting up any man in a uniform."

Chloe didn't bother to hold back her smirk.

"Ah, so this is a Lois related behaviour modification? Jealous much?"

Clark looked back at Chloe for the first time in their whole conversation.

"Clearly not as jealous as you are of her."

Chloe thought of only one thing at this comment. Ouch.

"Okay, I get it. Let's just tone down the personal attacks a notch." Chloe decided to shift the conversation away from awkward territory.

"Isn't it movie night for you two tonight anyway?"

"Yeah." Clark replied, instantly disinterested again. That was until the waitress with a rather low cut top came and handed them the cheque. Clark's leer at the girl didn't go unnoticed to Chloe. She added that behaviour to her mental list of all things un Clark-like that had been witnessed today. She added some notes to the tray and began to stand.

"I've got to get back. Um, thanks for lunch," Chloe said uneasily.

"Sure," Clark replied.

As Chloe left, Clark figured he would have to amuse himself for a few hours before heading back to the farm. He would wait for a time that could be considered 'fashionably late' and then speed his way out of the city. That way, Lois would be waiting for him. It was always more fun when he was in control.

* * *

Clark arrived at the farm after super-speeding from Metropolis, but slowed to normal speed before he got to the front door. The light from the lounge room cast a soft glow over the kitchen entrance and spilled out onto the front porch. Knowing that Lois was inside, waiting to begin their movie night, Clark gave a small sideways smile. He opened the door and entered the kitchen with a casual swagger and his head held high. Anyone who had seen him enter would know automatically that something was very different about Clark Kent. Clark was going to call out to her as he entered the kitchen but thought better of it as he imagined how he could surprise Lois with his presence while she was unaware. He could see it now; Lois would be watching the TV , waiting for him to come home and completely unaware that he had finally arrived. Certainly unaware of his new attitude. He would quietly come up behind her on the couch and place his hands on the backrest of the couch, one hand either side of her head. He would lean in to her, his breath lightly tickling her neck and finally making his presence known. He would angle his mouth to her ear and whisper something, it wouldn't matter what it was because his close proximity would surely make her unable to respond. She would lean her head back and he would slowly move his hand from the couch to lazily trail down her neck. Her eyes would close and he would swoop down to claim her mouth with his. She wouldn't need persuading; he knew that she had been pining after him for ages now. Possibly years.

Clark entered the lounge room, set on living out his recent fantasy when he realised things probably wouldn't go as planned. Lois was lying on the couch asleep; a bowl of popcorn balanced precariously between her arm and the edge of the couch. Clark took in the sight with reverence. Not to be deterred, he took away the bowl and placed it beside him as he sat on the coffee table. Lois shifted slightly with this action but did not wake.  
Clark leaned forward and reached his hand out. He was hoping her hair would be covering her face so he could lightly brush it away and let her wake up with his cool touch to her skin. However, her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail and her fringe was already tightly pulled behind her ear. Instead, he settled for running his knuckles lightly across her cheek. Lois brought her shoulder up to her cheek at the contact and slowly began to wake. Clark pulled his arm away but continued to lean towards her while watching. Lois opened her eyes blearily and finally noticed Clark looming in front of her. Clark gave her a winning smile.

"Oh, you're awake." Clark remarked. Lois began to sit up and quickly wiped under her eyes, worried that there might be mascara smudged on her face.

"Thanks to you, yeah."

"I can't help it if the thought of my company instantly makes you wake up. Although I thought you would be waiting with bated breath for me to come home. Can't say I wasn't a little disappointed that you were asleep when I got here." Clark responded with a smirk.

Finally coming out of her slumber, Lois began to realise that something was slightly off with Clark. Their banter could sometimes be mistaken as flirtatious (of that fact, she wasn't complaining), but this was much more blatant. And it wasn't the first time today.

"In your dreams Smallville."

"Well, as long as you give me your permission. Miss Lane." Lois' eyes narrowed slightly at this comment. Not only did she now _know _that something was up with Clark, he was beginning to remind her of someone, but she couldn't put her finger on it as no face came to mind. Lois decided to play nonchalant and pretended that Clark's change of personality wasn't affecting her.

"What you do when the doors are closed is your business Farm Boy. But if I hear that I've featured in a sordid fantasy with one of your milkers, you're gonna wish you'd taken more photos of that pretty face of yours."

Clark simply smirked at this comment and leaned in closer to Lois. The gap between them was now very minimal.

"So, you like what you see then? I knew you couldn't sit across from me day after day without…" Clark paused for dramatic effect, "…noticing."

Lois was having a really hard time trying to process what was happening. Maybe she was still asleep.

"Believe me Clark, the only thing that working across from you has me noticing, is how irritating you are."

"Yeah, but you love it. I know I do."

Clark went to the next step and circled Lois' wrist with his hand. The touch made Lois feel as though she had lost all control over the movement of her arm. Lois' retort was lost on her slightly open lips. The need for talking began to disappear as Clark began running his hand slowly and agonisingly up her arm. Thinking clearly and organising all motor responses for speech seemed to be a difficult task at the moment. As Clark reached her shoulder, Lois finally got a dose of reality and gained control over her speech.

"Have you been drinking? You don't really seem like yourself," Lois somehow managed to get out.

"Lois, are you really that concerned? Coz I don't hear you complaining."

Something about the way Clark spoke sent chills down Lois' spine. He was so close, and his lips were sending light puffs of air onto her own. He was right. She wasn't complaining.

Clark let his lips touch briefly against Lois'. This action defied everything his body was screaming out for and everything he had been wanting for so long but was just too blind to acknowledge. Clark felt Lois' breath hitch as he pulled away ever so slightly. Lois looked at Clark quickly through half lidded eyes and she leant forward. Clark had never found the effects of Red K to be so sweet. He revelled in the fact that this time, Lois would remember everything. It was then he realised he needed to give Lois something worth remembering. As Lois' lips touched his again, Clark held back nothing. He began kissing her with a passion he never even recognised until a few hours before. It was different from the last time he had kissed her. Last time he responded to Lois' advances in a pure physical nature. At that time he had been in love with Lana, but Lois provided a proposition that any red blooded male would have found difficult to refuse. This time was different. It was as if his lust for Lois and his love for Lana had combined into one emotion aimed at the former.

Clark didn't know how it happened, but he suddenly realised that he was kneeling in front of Lois, kissing her hungrily while his hand trailed up to her hair and slid out the band holding her dark strands back. Lois gasped as he did this and pulled away from the kiss, breathing heavily. Clark was already missing her touch and leaned in again while his fingers traced through her hair and down the soft curves of her neck. Lois responded eagerly and ran her tongue across Clark's bottom lip. The kiss deepened as both mouths opened. Clark emitted a gruff moan and decided there was far too much space between him and Lois. He rose from the floor and began leaning Lois back onto the couch. The friction made as Clark slid his body over Lois' made her moan and she leaned her head back, revelling in the feel of the pressure Clark's body was placing on hers. Clark began peppering open mouthed kisses down her jaw and made a trail down to her collarbone. Lois arched her body into Clark's as his hand found the hem of her shirt. Clark was sure Lois had no idea what she was doing to him as her breathing quickened further and her skin danced under his touch. Under the influence of Red K, Clark was confident enough to know that he was affecting her in the same way. Clark breathed in her scent as his head remained cradled in her neck and his hand searched higher, eventually feeling the lace he was desperately seeking. Clark almost didn't hear her moan as he stifled his own. Lois' hands had somehow found their way under Clark's shirt and her nails were lightly trailing down the muscles of his back. Becoming impatient, Clark recaptured Lois' mouth while his free hand traced firmly down her outer thigh with the attempt to bring her leg up so they could be positioned even more closely.

Clark's intentions were barely known, however, as he felt a sudden blinding pain. His whole body began to ache, feeling in complete contrast to the pleasant sensations he was experiencing moments before. He jerked suddenly and rolled off of Lois and on to the floor, trying hard to breathe while his muscles were constricting with agony. Neither Lois nor Clark had noticed the arrival of Chloe, and therefore had not noticed as she had pulled out a lead box, opening it to reveal a green meteor rock. Lois felt rather sheepish while Chloe stood there, as she didn't know what her cousin had seen. Lois assumed that Clark's sudden bolt onto the floor was an attempt to cover up what they had been doing. However, she couldn't help but feel hurt that he had left her so quickly. The green glow from the meteor rock had disappeared and Clark now lay rather still on the floor. Lois quickly glanced down at him with wide eyes, silently begging him to save them from the awkward situation. Clark didn't seem capable of doing much to help, so Lois attempted to rectify the situation.

"Ah hey, Chlo! Didn't see you come in…or hear you. Can you believe how easily scared Smallville is? We were watching _SAW _before and clearly it gave him the jitters, jumped about ten feet when we noticed you were here," Lois directed the next part of her rant to Clark who was still sitting on the floor, looking rather panicked. "It's great that you know your place and all Smallville but you can get yourself up off the floor now. I know Chloe has her moments but she seems pretty harmless right now."

Clark and Chloe were both staring at Lois with looks of curiosity and…concern, although this went somewhat unnoticed to the woman in question. Unable to bare the uncomfortable silence, Lois finally stood up and tried to discretely reposition her top before speaking again.

"Well, love to stay and chat but I think I better get back to the city. Early morning tomorrow. Coffee and computer are beckoning." There was a pause. "Ah, see you guys later!" With that note, Lois quickly rushed out of the lounge room and almost bolted to her car.

Inside the house, Clark was still sitting on the floor while Chloe held the lead box and made her way over to him. Clark continued to look at Chloe with a panicked and somewhat pained expression.

"I've seen you on Red K before Clark but…I could have done without the ah, peep show. I have to say thank you for keeping explanations of your previous escapades to PG13."

If it was possible, Clark looked even more horrified.

"Oh god Chloe. This is…not good."

Chloe couldn't help it and she smirked at her friend.

"Are you sure, you both seemed to think otherwise…"

* * *

**A/N: **So what did you guys reckon? I would muchly appreciate it if you could let me know...I kind of whipped this out rather quickly (firstly because I was so excited I got some reviews and secondly because I was a little bored...) and just hope that it is making sense. Just so you know, I have no idea what the difference between police ranks are...I assume that deputy is one of the lowest ranks...because you can have deputy, deputy constable etc...so if anyone actually knows the ranking system, feel free to inform me to tell me I am wrong! lol. I realise this is a bit more AU than first expected, given the revelations of the 8th season, but as I said, I haven't seen it yet so just bare that in mind. Thanks so much for reading and please review...I will stop rambling now!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Smallville.

**A/N:** Thanks so much to gab4eva24 who gave such an insightful review! I really appreciated your comments and this chapter is dedicated to you. Hope it ties things together a bit nicer too!!!

* * *

Lois sat in the front seat of her car in the Kent's driveway, staring out of the windscreen. She wasn't sure she trusted herself to drive at that moment as she re-played the events in her mind. With Chloe disturbing her and Clark's situation so abruptly, she had barely registered what had been happening. She was sure it was a dream when Clark kissed her with such passion. She could still feel his light touch on her skin, light but dominant. Certainly not what she had expected from the shy farm boy. She recalled his hot breath tingling her senses as she realised she must have had the same effect on him as he did her. Lois suddenly felt very light now following the memory of Clark's comforting strong weight bearing down on her. Only in her wildest fantasies, which had coincidentally started following her cousin Chloe's wedding, did Lois imagine that something could ever happen between her and Clark. Knowing that it was best to just drive away, back to the city where she might be able to think clearer, Lois went against all of her better judgement and made the decision to stay. She had missed her chance to talk about this with Clark last time due to the untimely arrival of a past love, and she wouldn't miss her opportunity again. As Lois opened the car door and returned to the gravelled path, she had the acknowledgement in some far recess of her mind that the last time she had tried to confront Clark about their relationship, be that friendship or something more, he had stood her up. Lois almost stopped in her tracks but something made her keep moving forward. This time was different. There was no Lana. Clark had kissed her. Lois had _felt _that he wanted her.

Lois steered clear of the farm house, knowing that her cousin was still inside, no doubt trying to pry information out of the probably scarlet faced Clark. Instead, Lois headed for Clark's sanctuary. The one place she knew he would go if he had to think some things over. If Clark was feeling anything like she was at this juncture, Lois was sure that she would be able to catch Clark in his loft and confront him about what had happened. As Lois ascended the stairs and nervously positioned herself on the couch, fiddling with the paperweight she found on the small table, then repositioning the cushions. Lois couldn't help but think of every possible outcome from the evening's events.

_What could tonight mean? Did Clark finally realise his feelings for me? Did he feel what I felt? How the hell did he learn to kiss like that? I hope to God it wasn't with Lana! Was he over Lana? What if he was just using me to get over Lana…what if he was simply on the rebound? Come to think of it, maybe I should thank her. Oh God, we have to work across from one another! What if we date and then break up and then have to keep working together. Awkward! Or worse, what if we become so wrapped up in each other that we can hardly concentrate on sitting at our desks typing away while we could be doing something much more fun, and physical. What if it was a mistake? What if I can't decide what to change my name to…_

Lois' thoughts were immediately interrupted when, as she predicted, she heard the heavy footfalls of Clark entering the loft. Lois nervously wrung her hands and then stood up to face Clark when he made it onto the mezzanine. Clark looked up and was shocked to see Lois there. Clark stopped in his tracks.

"Ah, Lois…"

Lois smiled awkwardly but pushed on.

"Yeah, hi Clark. I um…well I figured that any time anything of significance happens that you either come up here to think…or brood," Lois quickly replayed what she had said in her head and panicked. "Not that what happened was entirely significant…or that you always brood, actually, you do always brood. Anyway, the point is that I came up here because, um, well I wasn't actually sure if what happened actually had any significance, and if it doesn't then that's cool, we can just forget about it. But if there was significance somewhere among it all then I really think that we should talk about…well…the significance?"

If Clark hadn't been so petrified of having to have this discussion with Lois, he would have smirked at her incessant rambling. As it were, Clark could not even find it in himself to smile inwardly. Instead, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes held a look of something akin to pity. Maybe it was sadness. Or guilt. Or shame. He wasn't sure himself. All Clark knew was that somehow yet again, he had reduced Lois Lane to a babbling wreck. Clark hadn't realised that a fair chunk of time had passed since providing a very minimal reaction to Lois' rant. Lois stood 10 metres away from Clark, biting her bottom lip and holding her breath simply waiting for a response, any response.

"Right now would be a great time for you to actually say something, Smallville."

Clark still hadn't moved. He finally broke her gaze and looked toward the ground while clearing his throat in an awkward gesture.

"Lois, I don't know if I…I," Clark had absolutely no idea where he was going with his speech. He just figured saying something would be better than nothing.

"I can't tell you what happened." By the look on Lois' face, he realised he was wrong. Maybe he should have stayed quiet.

"Of course you can't," Lois said in an undertone and dropped her own gaze away from the man who she knew was going to hurt her again. Lois grabbed her coat from the back of the sofa and made her way to the stairs leading to the lower deck of the barn. Unfortunately the only way there was to walk straight past Clark.

Clark was stunned. He had expected some sort of tirade. He wanted her to yell at him. Get openly mad at him. She could try to punch him for all he cared. Any reaction would be better than no reaction. Clark couldn't let her leave, not just yet. How could he tell her that while what had happened was something that he had wanted for a while now, albeit only recently discovered? How could he tell her that while he wanted to touch her, to be there for her, he knew that he would always let her down? How could he tell her that of all the mistakes he had ever made, this one was by far the most enlightening and dare he think it, enjoyable? He couldn't. Who wants to hear that they are a mistake? Not knowing what he would say, Clark grabbed Lois' arm as she walked past and she halted abruptly. She didn't dare look at his face for fear of letting him realise the emotions she was sure were plastered all over her own. Clark stared at her intently, his voice filled with uninhibited emotion.

"I'm sorry Lois."

Lois suddenly didn't care what emotion Clark saw in her face. At that moment, she only saw red.

"Sorry?" she laughed bitterly," You're sorry? Boy, you really need to work on your girl tactics Smallville! Do you honestly think a girl wants to hear that a guy is sorry for kissing her the way that you did to me not even 20 minutes ago?"

Lois forcefully pulled her arm away from Clark's grasp.

"Let me tell you something _Clark,_ I don't want to hear that you're sorry. I don't want to hear another empty answer from you, telling me that you have no idea what happened or that you _can't _tell me what happened, because I don't know if you noticed, but I sure as hell don't have any fucking clue! We…tip-toe around this joke of a thing we call a friendship, knowing that that's not just what it is, and yet if there is even the slightest inclination of the word 'relationship' you decide to play the doe eyed, bambi watching her mother get shot and strapped to the back of a van, look. I am so tired of you playing dumb, that you think you have no affect on the women in your life because after everything that's happened…_everything,_ with Lana and Chloe and, oh my god, about every single girl who has ever laid eyes on you, you still have the nerve to turn around and make out like its our fault! Like you did nothing in the whole grand scheme of things to contribute to the awkward, messed up way that you make us feel!"

Lois' face was becoming red in anger. Clark was beginning to wish he had never thought that Lois yelling at him would be easier to take. He couldn't deny it. He was scared.

"Today, you flip a switch and you act like you've suddenly procured a lifetime's supply of testosterone and somehow develop enough confidence or dare I say arrogance to actually admit that you have this, this, power over us! And tonight," Lois could hear her voice starting to quake at what she was going to say, or admit, next.

"Tonight you looked at me. Really looked at me for the first time in so long. And you made me believe that I actually meant something. You made me believe that maybe I didn't imagine that there was something more. And for the first time, I didn't feel so stupid for actually letting myself feel something for you, and you know what? For a moment, I honestly thought that you felt the same. No one can kiss or touch someone that way without feeling _something_. So that's why it's so fucking sad when you say that you're sorry, because that could only mean one of two things. That you don't want to let yourself recognise your own feelings, or that you've simply perfected your award winning acting and lying capabilities."

Lois took this moment to finally look Clark directly in the eyes. She felt a jolt of malicious pride when she saw the scared and almost hurt look in his eyes.

"So which one is it Clark? Are you in denial? Or are you just a jackass?"

All of Lois' words were playing in his head and Clark couldn't pick out which parts he was supposed to be responding to. His immediate reaction was to become defensive, as would be anyone's, but Clark knew that there was more than a little truth in her words. He had given her more attention under the influence of Red K than he would ever have dared if he was just being plain old Clark. She was right, he did show more initiative today, initiative that only Red K or the Blur could evoke in him. Clark didn't know how he was supposed to respond. Right now he just wanted to know the answer that Lois was going to be satisfied with. Wishing that telekinesis was one of his super-powers, Clark quickly ran through his options. If he said he was in denial, would that mean that Lois would understand that he did have feelings for her, and therefore still bring about a tiny ray of hope for their relationship to be rekindled. Or should he just admit that he was a jackass and save Lois future heartache? One thing was for sure, Clark was glad he never let slip that tonight had been a mistake. Once again, Clark had participated in too much internal thinking and not enough action. Lois scoffed and shook her head before turning around to exit the barn.

"Yeah, just what I thought."

Clark watched Lois descend the stairs. He knew it would probably be the death of him, but he didn't want to let her go.

"Lois, wait!"

This time, Lois didn't turn around.

"I'm leaving now Clark," she said pointedly, and she disappeared out the wide door of the barn.

* * *

On the way back to her car, Lois passed Chloe.

"Lois? I thought you'd already…" Chloe trailed off. She could see that her cousin was in no mood to be messed with. Chloe watched as Lois brushed passed her and forcefully got herself into the front seat of her car, slamming the door loud enough to cause an echo. Tyres spun and Chloe was lucky not to be hit with rogue pieces of gravel as Lois sped out of the driveway. Chloe slowly glanced toward the barn where she knew Clark had gone when he said that he needed some space. She had decided to give him 15 minutes to think through whatever it was that he needed to think through, and then she would come in to play the supportive best friend card. It looked like he might need that support now more than ever.

Chloe entered the barn and made her way up to the loft. She still held the lead box containing the green kryptonite. Clark sat with his head in his hands, wishing he had had the guts to tell Lois how things actually were. At the moment, he wasn't the alien with super-powers from another planet. He was not the saviour of the world. He was not what Lois wanted. He was not the Blur. He could feel Chloe pacing in front of him.

"You can't blame yourself Clark…"

_Yes I can, and I do._

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks so much for reading. The next chapter will be set in the 'current' time so the flashbacks shall have ended and the story will continue in normal time (so that means we will be following on from the end of the first chapter!) Let me know about your interpretation of the issues expressed in the argument! Would love to know what you think is going on! Please Please Please review : )


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Smallville.

**A/N:** This chapter is dedicated to DragonCurse4 who prompted me to continue with this story. Been a while since I started this story, I hope the characters are still true to the start of the story! This is a bit of a filler chapter…there will be further crime solving and romance to come I promise!

* * *

Two days. It had been two days since Lois had yelled at him. Two days since he realised just how important she was to him. Two days since he got himself into the biggest mess of his life. Well, his emotional life. Actually, come to think of it, he had dug himself into a hole many a time when he was with Lana. Clark was starting to realise a pattern. But that pattern didn't matter right now, because Clark was just about ready to superspeed his way to work, and he had to admit, he was scared at what would be facing him once he arrived. Clark quickly downed his glass of milk and then took off before the glass had even touched the bottom of the sink.

* * *

Lois had gotten to work early. She figured she had nothing else better to do with her morning, and she had already gone for a jog at 6am to run off the copious amounts of rocky road ice-cream she had downed over the past couple of days. She really needed to find some healthier comfort food. So instead of spending another minute moping over a certain sorry excuse for a farm boy, Lois decided to further investigate the happenings at the warehouse that she had already written a page two story on. She didn't want page two. She didn't want to share a by-line. She wanted the front page, her own name and a Pulitzer. She wanted a distraction from the person she knew would be sitting across from her in…she looked at the clock…about five minutes time. She decided to start with interviewing the father. While the police had given her the scoop at the time, she couldn't help but feel there was more to the story. After living in Smallville for so long, Lois knew when something wasn't what it seemed.

As Lois dialled the number for the police station and put the phone to her ear, she saw a familiar tall figure exposed by the opening elevator doors. Lois didn't have time to react as she was connected through to the sergeant.

"Sergeant Wallis? Lois Lane, Daily Planet,"

There was a pause on Lois' end as the sergeant replied. Lois started to talk again as Clark cautiously made his way to the desk opposite.

"As you know I'm covering the Warehouse fiasco and want to interview your accused. How does 10 o'clock sound?"

Lois left no room for arguments, she wanted to interview the father and if the sergeant didn't let her, she would find another way. She had contacts. During the pause at her end, Lois quickly braved a glance across her desk as she heard Clark's chair shift under his weight as he sat down. Lois suddenly stopped listening to the sergeant as her thoughts overpowered any environmental stimuli. Why hadn't she thought about a plan of attack to seeing him again? That's what every good soldier does, plans out their attack and defensive lines so they are prepared for any onslaught. But she hadn't. She could have planned to give Clark the silent treatment, to give him pointed death glares all day, to make sure to alienate him from her work and personal life, or to act completely nonchalant. But she hadn't. Lois realised that both ends of the phone had gone silent and figured that to follow the common laws of conversation, it was her turn to speak.

"So I can interview the parental figure at 10 o'clock then? Sounds great, see you then." Lois finished the conversation, completely ignoring the sergeant's cries of disapproval over the phone. Sometimes accidentally not listening to someone on the phone had its perks. She knew whether the sergeant liked it or not, he would let her interview the witness. As Lois smirked to herself, Clark decided to attempt the impossible and have a conversation to her.

"Lois…um, so how are you?" Lois looked up at him with raised eyebrows. She still hadn't decided her line of attack.

"Great, I just got an interview with the father of little miss feisty. Gonna see it from the accused side of the story." Apparently Lois was playing it nonchalant. Clark was worried she was covering for how hurt she really was.

"You got an interview with the father? I thought they'd as good as convicted him." Which in Clark's mind said _I'm sorry for what I did, but I wasn't myself and I don't want to hurt you._

"Smallville, you of all people should know when something just doesn't seem right. I think there's more to the story, I mean, a father attacking his daughter," Lois made air quotes with her fingers on the word 'attack', "for no apparent reason and screaming that she's evil just isn't kosher. We may be a long way from Smallville but I have a suspicion that a certain intergalactic rock is responsible for this one." Lois said this all while writing down what appeared to be something of importance on her notepad. In reality she was scribbling random words that came to her head. Clark was confused. This seemed to be their usual pre-story banter and problem solving routine. There were no pained expressions, shy glances or tense words. Lois appeared to be the epitome of calm and focus. He was confused.

"Lois, are you sure you're –" Clark suddenly stopped worrying about why things were so normal and took notice of what she had actually said, "Hang on, why do you think that meteor rocks have anything to do with this?" Lois looked at him with a glint in her eye. Clark knew she was just about to wow him with her formidable and most likely illegal research skills.

"Well, I decided to use this thing called the internet to search what the warehouse was associated with, you know, which companies were involved, what trading was taking place, storage blah blah blah. Anyway, I found out that the warehouse stocks some special breed of fertilizer. It's a combination of compost, manure and, get this, crushed stone. I'll give you one good guess at which company supplied the stone."

Clark's eyes widened.

"Luthorcorp?"

"Bang on! Luthorcorp's fertilizer plant in Smallville bargains out tonnes of low grade quarry stone to external corporations. Apparently this batch was considered low grade due to the presence of not green, but red meteor rock. Chloe, being the knowledge source of all things weird and wonderful told me that under that crazy lot of green meteor rock that bides its time under Smallville farms sometimes a layer of apparently low quality red rock is hiding away. You think they call it low quality because it doesn't seem to have the same wonderful effects as the creepy green stuff…or because its worse?"

Clark was taken aback by Lois' research. Today was Monday and the first day of the working week which meant that she either came in extraordinarily early this morning or she had been researching all weekend. Clark was conflicted between thoughts of rejection that Lois possibly spent the entire weekend working on a story rather than being upset over what he had done, and thoughts that maybe she forced herself into her work in order to forget the hurt he had caused her. He hadn't even reacted to the news of the red kryptonite. As Clark mused upon Lois' behaviour, she had grabbed her bag and sculled the last of her coffee.

"Where you going?" Clark asked, genuinely interested.

"Following up on my story. You want to be involved, meet me at the police station at 10 sharp."

Clark scoffed at her as he normally did and in that moment he felt that everything was going to be okay. This was their usual banter.

"If you're there on time Lois, I'll buy you café quality coffee every workday for the year."

Lois glanced at him and furrowed her brow slightly but smiled.

"You're on."

Lois walked briskly away as if on a very important mission. The truth was that she had nothing to do until 10 for her interview. As she got into the lift and the doors closed, Lois pressed the emergency stop button. Alone, she slid down the wall and put her hand to her mouth to stifle a sob. He hadn't tried to talk to her about what happened. He hadn't tried to apologise for what he did. He was acting as though nothing was wrong and it killed her. He was supposed to be either walking on eggshells around her or apologising profusely. He wasn't supposed to act as though nothing was wrong. That was her game plan. What saddened her most was the thought that maybe it wasn't even his game plan, but how he actually felt.

* * *

Clark had a few hours to kill before he needed to meet Lois at the police station. Given his current conflicting thoughts he decided the best person to go and see would be Chloe. Not only was she the one who he often went to when dealing with his own personal traumas, she had been in contact with Lois over the weekend and could give him further insight into the inner workings of her confusing cousin. Papers on Chloe's desk shuffled as his super speed stopped abruptly. Chloe's well trained arm caught her work before it could all float to the ground.

"Clark, to what do I owe the pleasure, its not even lunch time?" She asked with a smile. She was wary of Clark's current conflicts and was worried for her self-pitying friend.

"What? I can't come and see my best friend during the day? It takes me all of 5 seconds to get here." He said, returning her smile.

"Hm, 5 seconds? You're getting slow." Chloe replied in jest. She shook her head and looked Clark square in the eye. "This visit wouldn't happen to be related to the feisty one I'm related to would it?"

Clark's gaze faltered slightly.

"No?" He answered with a rising inflection, as if he hadn't even convinced himself. Chloe sighed and gestured for him to sit opposite her.

"Alright, what happened? You've been at work all of 2 hours, something major must have gone down. Spill."

Clark put his head in his hands and released a frustrated sigh.

"Urgh, no that's the point. Everything was normal. Normal greeting, normal banter, normal…everything!"

Chloe looked at him confused.

"So if everything is normal, why the visit?" Clark looked at her with an exasperated look on his face.

"Because she yelled at me Chloe! I kissed her, I hurt her and she yelled at me. She was so mad the other night, I practically told her that kissing her was a mistake! I couldn't even come up with anything to explain the situation to her! She stormed out on me Chloe."

"First of all, you were doing more than kissing, I should know, I was a witness. Second of all, you're upset because you didn't have to face the Lane wrath this morning? Clark, I'd thank your lucky home planet that you skipped out on that one. Super hearing can't be good with that kind of shrill tone." She stated, half confused by his predicament and half amused.

"Yes, I'm upset because she's not mad. She's acting like nothing happened at all. I tried to talk to her about it but she cut me off by being all…normal and telling me about the warehouse story. She was so angry the other night and now, now she doesn't even seem to care."

"Shouldn't that be a good thing though? If nothing else, your friendship seems not to have suffered at all. Wasn't that was you were most afraid of?"

"I was most afraid of hurting her. Now I've done that and I had proof, but now she" he paused. "It's just that if I had meant anything to her, shouldn't she still be upset now? Not pretending like nothing happened?"

Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes and groan. She truly loved the boy in front of her, but his twisted lines of thinking made her head hurt at times like these. She sighed inwardly and decided to console her lonely hearted friend.

"Clark, have you thought that maybe she values your friendship over everything else that has happened and is putting up a farce just so she doesn't have to deal with feeling so hurt?"

Clark looked horrified.

"So you think I really did hurt her?"

Chloe resisted the urge once again to roll her eyes.

"Clark, you have to understand that you stuffed up. Yeah the Red K wasn't your fault entirely, but Kal kissed Lois without any concerns or consequences. It was Clark that chose not to explain things to her because he was too scared. Either way, you are going to have to deal with her reaction, whether that be good or bad."

"So you think I should just go along with it and-"

"Be grateful that she is still talking to you and that everything is back to 'normal'? Yeah. I know you don't want normal and you want her to be able to trust you and even one day maybe see if a relationship is in the works but for now, just thank your speedy ass that you still have her friendship. Even if it is forced on her behalf."

"But do you think she's okay?" Clark asked with bated breath.

"I spoke with her over the weekend about the story she's working on. She seemed determined as ever but, yeah I'd say she was doing it tough. You mean a lot to her Clark, you should know that. Don't let your own insecurities get in the way."

"Thanks Chlo"

"You're welcome. Wow, seems like these chats are all we do now. How bout we change the subject. Did creepily normal Lois tell you what she found out about the warehouse?"

Clark rubbed his forehead and answered.

"Yeah, that's what we were talking about this morning. She's going to interview the dad. I'm meeting her at the police station."

"Well I'm sure she told you that the warehouse was home to that evil ruby rock that seemed to start this whole mess?"

"Yeah, she said Luthorcorp were contributors to supplies at the warehouse. Fertilizer."

Chloe looked at his nonchalant reaction in surprise.

"Okay, she's really done a number on you hasn't she? Red K Clark, aliens, superpowers! You're normally all over these stories."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on Clark, where's your usual enthusiasm. You just found out _Red K_ was involved in this story. You should know that Lois is probably right about her lead, because where there's Red K, there's Green K."

"I know that Chloe. What exactly is your point?"

Chloe didn't hold back her eye roll this time.

"That you, my alien friend, need to work closely with her on this and find out if her hunch is right." She took a sideways glance at Clark. "And for god's sake, stay away from the pallets at the warehouse. We don't need a rampant Kal or debilitated Clark to deal with. You're hard enough to deal with as it is…"

Clark smiled.

* * *

**A/N: Please please please review! I will be so much more motivated to finish the story if people are reading! Constructive criticism welcome!!!**


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